Neuroethology

Many people may ask the question: why study such an exotic sensory system such as the electrosensation in electric fish? Could it be because of the natural curiosity that we as human’s exhibit, or maybe because we are intrigued by the various morphological and physiological adaptations that are seen across a plethora of environments? Well, more evolved organisms have achieved their higher traits not from new mechanisms that spontaneously appeared, but from old mechanisms that they share with simpler organisms. Therefore, it is through the study of simpler process that humans hope to better understand their own complex process. Electric fish have perfected the analysis of temporal information and have shown that they can very easily decipher temporal signal characteristics (Heiligenberg 1990). Better understanding how these incredible fish can so efficiently process temporal ques will give humans insight into how they can process temporal cues in something like speech perception (Heiligenberg 1990). In the fresh waters of South America, lives a type of weakly electric fish often referred to as the gymnotiform fish. These specialized animals are able to generate electrical fields via an electric organ that is located on their tales (Heiligenberg 1990). Electroreceptors that surround their bodies can not only detect their own electric field signature, but also the ones generated by other weakly electric fish in close proximity (Heiligenberg 1990). When the fish is near an…